species is worth gls this is al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. the water is back on in west virginia after a tox irk chemical spill but it could be days before everyone can turn on the tap. new troubles for chris christie, revelations that money from superstorm sandy were miss used. the detroit auto show. >> life is slowly returning to normal in parts of west virginia

five days after a chemical spill forced officials to pan people from using tap water. the government says tests indicate the water is safe enough, after chemicals used this in treating coal leaked. people can turn on their taps again. jonathan martin, joins us from charleston west virginia. jopt jonathan, i can imagine ocouple of reactions. it's about time, and sit really safe? >> yes, tony, people have been waiting for five days, some people haven't taken showers for three or four days because of this ban. we have learned from the governor of west virginia that they have lifted the state of

emergency, a little more they have been able to turn on their water. they have tested a and determined it does meet federal standards. a huge relief, they have been told not to drink water or betty in the water. small businesses have certainly been relieved because they have taken a hit. >> it was a huge fundamental hit, we do hope some of our vendors will be offering some sort of reprieve. if not, you know, peeping putting things to be paid down on time. it's a tough industry, the restaurant industry but we're in a small area and people have been incredibly helpful. >> and we asked the governor just how big of a financial and economic impact this shutdown has had. he said he weanl able to speak

to that at this point. people have been asked to flush out their systems for 20 minutes before starting to use their water. meanwhile the discretion into this company that caused the spill is continuing. freedom industries, they want to know why it took so long to notify the authorities. are tony. >> thank you jonathan. i spoke to sheldon krensky, how are toxic chemicals can be stored so close to drinking water. >> the first thing you ask is what's the worst case scenario. what we have just seen is the worst case scenario. somebody should have asked, what happens if this tank ruptures, where does the spill go and what will be contaminated?

>> professor explained that this is regulated by the states although there are federal guidelines. another tough day in what has been a tough week for governor chris croifd. it started last wednesday when, lain closures on the george washington bridge in september. during a news conference the next day, the governor fired the aide and denied there were other is incidents. today the state legislature announced the formation of a bipartisan committee to investigate the bridge-gate scandal. >> this has become larger than a transportation issue and that is the reason we're creating the supercommittee. the cools and the leadership under chairman wisnewski, this trail may lead to something else

and we will look at all evidence that's presented and act accordingly. >> on top of the bridge-gate scandal we learned that there is an investigation on how governor christie used superstorm sandy relief fund. john terrett is here with that. it seems to go down to the governor and the ad campaign. >> you remember back in the summertime last year probably not around the whole country but certainly around jersey there was a whole series of adverts it features governor christie in shirt sleeves with his family down on the jersey shore. take a look and we'll tell you about the scandal. ♪ stronger than the storm are.

>> the jersey shore is open. >> the word is spreading. >> because we're stronger than the storm. >> you bet we are! >> now then according to new jersey democratic congressman frank palone, there is a problem with that governor christie putting he and his family in front of everyone, beyond that palone said governor christ spent $2 million more noarn in order to very -- more in order to are be in that campaign. the inspector general according to palown, is carrying out something. this happened well before, to be fair, the bridge escapade. it is another thing that the

christie people now have to deal with. >> and what are the issues at the heart of the bridge scandal escapade is how the governor treats political rivals, isn't it? >> you remember this whole thing blew up because the mayor of fort lee in new jersey was basically denied the -- that as a result of the lane closures that went on on the washington bridge which is the nation's busiest bridge. there was a list that other mayors also came in for the same treatment. steven many phillip was suggesting last week that there was a campaign against him, and today all media outlets, all newspapers anyway, like the wall street an journal and the new yk times. taken on july the 18th and

it's from somebody in mayor steven's office, and you can see within the past hour i've received phone calls from and it names four people all of which have cancelled the meetings on the 23rd. now this is important because the mayor was scheduled to meet with governor christie and a whole group of appointees, that was the day july antithat he decided to make it public that he wouldn't support governor christie. why did he care about democratic are mayors? he wanted to attract as much partisan and bipartisan support as he could. this seems to be an e-mail that backs up what people have been saying. >> i don't know if you are on the story, it would be great if you were, you might have other responsibilities. the governor is going to speak, and we'll get state of the state address, and everyone is wondering if he's going to

address this in his speech. >> normally what happens in the jersey politics is politicians from both sides of the aisle, there is a lot of glad-handing from both sides of the aisle. i will be there, the state of the state is at 3:00 in the afternoon. in the meantime -- we don't know whether he's going to mention anything. you don't know with governor christie, that is a plus and a negative. the poll by the pew research organization says among republicans 69%, among democrats 55 and independents, which are bigger than both parties, 60%, have no change for governor christie, no change at all. that speaks about his strengths and his weaknesses in one poll. >> a state that seems to like

him. all right jonathan terrett. thank you. the supreme court, dispute focuses on powx's decision to appoint three people to the national labor relations board in january of 2012. some people say the move was unconstitutional. libby casey has more. >> the kay questions whether a president in this case president obama can make appointments when the senate is not in washington. typically the president will nominate someone to serve as a judge or to head a federal agency or serve on something like the national labor relations board then the senate confirms them. the constitution says the president must seek the advice and consent of congress. there is a loophole however when the senate is on recess. president obama two years ago appointed three members to the national labor relations board at a time when, while the senate was in what is called a pro forma session, it was

technically in but members were not in washington. they had a minimal are session here. the president says that counts as a recess. president spokesman jay carney defended this. >> we are confident that the president's ability to make appointments will be upheld by the courts and look for resolution of this matter. >> members say it's up to the senate to decide when they are officially in recess. they say this happens only officially once a year. whits a brief break it's not a time for the president to go ahead and move without their consent. senator lamar alexander republican of tennessee made that point with some exaggeration on the senate today. >> hopefully the supreme court agrees with the appellate courts. otherwise the senate might go out to lunch and return and find that we have a new supreme court justice. >> senator alexander's comments on the floor get to the heart of

really who holds the power. congress or the white house? the supreme court will decide on this case by late june. that's when the term ends and it may have some implications and repercussions of how the white house can act in the future. >> libby casey at the white house for us. l it's not exactly the people the administration was hoping would sign up, of those who signed up for the president's healthcare law, age 45 to 64. only aquarter of the 18 to 24, if that pattern persists it could cause premiums to go up in the future. experts say the administration needs to sign up large numbers of younger people to balance the risk of those who require more medical care. it could be a step towards peace in the middle east. humanitarian aid into some parts of the war torn country. this come as secretary of state

john kerry and other diplomats met in paris. they discussed a peace conference scheduled to take place in swits larnd nex -- switzerland takings play. al jazeera's andy gallagher has more. >> foreign fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant, or i.s.i.l. are gaining ground. albab in the northeast is said to be under their control, following another raid. ribl fighters were killed by the i.s.i.l, handed over weapons and key positions. in fighting between the i.s.i.l. and rebel groups has intensified over the last few days with some reports that 500 people have died during vicious fighting. situation on the ground is already a complex one but if the i.s.i.l. have gained control of key cities it puts a strain on already tense negotiations. western nations are encouraging all sides in the conflict to come together for peace talks

later this month in switzerland and the i.s.i.l.'s reported gains could make that harder. meanwhile in the eastern country side of hama rebel groups have claimed to have killed 25 rebel soldiers. but government air strikes in the outskirts of damascus have continued unabated. the peace conference is scheduled to take place on january the 22nd. andy gallagher al jazeera. >> the white house wants congress to hold off on sanctions against iran implementing the deal to curb iran's nuclear program. in exchange for some relief from crippling sanctions, president obama has threatened to veto any new sanctions approved by congress. the political crisis in thailand

has entered a new phase. on monday, antigovernment protestors brought part of bangkok to a standstill. part of an effort to get the prime minister, yingluck shinawatra to an step down. >> set up stages and settled in. on monday they kicked off their self proclaimed shutdown of the thai capital, home of some 12 million people. >> melissa burke flew in from gergermany. >> we don't care who will lead us in the future just as long as they are not corrupt.

>> protestors say their shutdown will last at least 15 days. >> there is no doubt that they have achieved an immediate goal, disruption in central bangkok. but it's unclear how this will help them achieve their long term goal of unseating yingluck shinawatra. government the keeping a close watch on the mass gatherings. the prime minister spent most of the day in meetings with her top advisories. the opposition party supports the shutdown. the administration admits the push for change is going to take commitment. >> the people out here they all want a better future for thailand and they think we can't go on with politics as usual. it's going to hurt in short term. >> that is not great news for this person, his business is way

down. >> step has chosen to shut down bangkok because he wants to end corruption. but the longer the crisis continues the less the government responds. i hope sutap will end this soon. >> sutap calls this the final battle but how he can change this movement on the street to a change in government is far from clear. al jazeera, bangkok. >> detroit ask getting millions of dollars to help keep it out of debt, plus keep its art collection. and the detroit auto show. that next. why the gay marriage ban is getting lot of protests on social media. back in a moment. velshi brings the big-money issues home where they effect you the most. >> household debt has been slashed.

>> then, what real people are talking about in real-time with the stream. >> all of our communities lightin' up twitter tonight. >> and stay with us for live, breaking and in-depth news. real reporting, this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> for on the field news, we turn to the nfl. next week's conference championship matchups are set, new england will travel to denver, that means tom brady and the patriots will meet peyton manning for the third time. the 49ers travel to seattle to face their bitter rival for the

third time this season. that's your look at sports this hour. >> getting a fresh start. >> from living the life that i live, i thought by now, i should be dead. >> a unique business that's giving troubled women a second chance at >> next we consider sacrifice and whether saving some members of endangered species is worth

>> 2013 was a rough year. the city started looking for creative ways to get out of the hole even selling off some of its art. but in 2013 things are already looking up. jonathan betz has the story. >> authorities are stepping up to help the city with two issues, retired workers and its art. several association he including the ford foundation has contributed up to 200 million to solve the city's debt. the hopes to save the art museum deposit and keep masterpieces inside the city's museum. small part of that collection worth up to $900 million. many were in danger of being sold. this donation would now protect

them. still detroit does have a long road ahead of it. its total debt close to $18 billion. hearings continue as well as appeals, negotiations over who should get paid. now by march the city must submit its plan on how it's going to emerge from bankruptcy and then the big date. by september of 2014 the emergency manager hopes to finally exit bankruptcy 14 months after declaring it. this is a pretty ambitious time line, but authorities have very painful cuts for detroit tony. >> absolutely all right jonathan good news a little bit, we'll take it. jonathan betz for us. the auto industry. got to tell you since the bailout of the auto industry in 2009 general motors, ford and chrysler have turned their businesses around and they hope this week's auto show in detroit will give them even more to celebrate.

"real money" ali velshi is there. >> obviously 2008 was really rough. 2009 was when the bailouts were still being discussed. it was dire straits for the auto companies and every year they've done a little bit better year after year after year. as i spoke to the ceo of toyota, we were still look back, still weren't sure whether we would be strong. last year americans bought more than 15 million cars. it was a strong year, that was the strongest since 2007 so they're feeling a lot better about it. there's optimism around here, great designs, great cars. for a time the auto industry sort of lost its sex appeal. now it feels good and things are feeling a lot better. i'm in detroit and things are

still tough in this town and other manufacturing towns across the upper midwest but there's something good in the air tony. >> it's great to see you there and yes i love red. i understand you also had an opportunity to talk to the big man, boss at ford. >> yes, so i'll tell you the awards you know every day on the first day the press day they give out the car of the year and the truck of the year award. the car of the year went to the corvette sting ray general motors and the truck of the year went to the silverado, general motors. this f series of trucks for ford has been the best selling truck for 37 years, the 150, 250, 350, best selling vehicles in america of all for the last 32 years. so ford's designed this new thing, it's got an aluminum body, all sorts of things. when i give you this truck you

will be able to hitch up your car without anyone 0 help you, it has a camera setup. alan mullaley saw ford through the hard times and he's here to stay until at least the end of 2014. >> i can't wait for "real money," can't wait to see the program. ali, appreciate it and i'll take the keys when you're back. bub leber is a former marketing executive with chrysler and ford and currently the owner of whitney restaurant. bud, it's great to see you and thanks for your time. you know there was a lot of optimism being expressed about detroit and i know you're optimistic about detroit's come back. tell me why.

is. >> well, you can't minimize the problems. you just heard about the deficit and the concerns about the artwork. but there's so many things that are good that are happening now. starting with the auto show and starting with the success of the auto industry. but over and above that we have a new mayor, the mayor's working with the emergency manager, the emergency manager is worrying about the banks, the mayor is worrying about running the city. we have dan gilbert and quicken loans, they bought 32 buildings and rehabbing them, people in the streets, new restaurants, new retail, getting grocery stores. we had a shopping center built within the city of detroit opened about six months ago, probably the first new shopping center in the city in a generation. so there's a lot of good things happening a lot of good people working together and everybody pulling in the same direction for the first time in a long, long time. >> i got to ask you when did you open your restaurant, what year? >> well i opened it in 2007. it was -- i tell people it's

something i did with my heart and not my brain. >> and the reason was, you thought you would getting off to a place in detroit where the crest of the wave. that wasn't the case right? >> well, unless the creflt downward, it was a painful experience. we wanted to keep it alive. it's in an historic building, it's a historic building and a well-known restaurant. now a couple of years go by, the business is good, people are coming in and we have done the things we hoped we'd been able to do. >> how did you do that? six or seven years of ownership and you're talking about difficult years, survival of the fittest aspect to your story isn't it? >> it's blood, sweat and tears. people tell me my optimism is my greatest characteristic.

we've been able to do it by elbow grease, stick to itiveness, and we're -- i've been in this town over 45 years and frankly, i've kind of watched it spiral downward for most of those 45 years and now in the last couple of years i honestly feel for the first time that it's on its way back. problems exist, absolutely. the bankruptcies are a problem, neighborhoods are a problem, police issues oar problem but i think we've got people on all sides addressing all the problems for real and very, very hopeful. >> give us the benefit of your experience at the auto industry. as i mentioned at the top you are a former marketing executive with chrysler and ford. give it to me straight here. does the auto industry in detroit have a good story to tell right now? and how well is it telling that story? >> i think it has a great story to tell right now.

i think general motors has come back, i mean the fact that there are two vehicles, the silverad offer and the sting ray got north american car and truck of the year this morning. that's the first time two american cars of one division have gotten it in i don't know how long. the quality has gone up consistently for ten years. for years we were losing to the japanese and asian models. we are at par and better than on many occasions. the christ ler just announced their new 200 today, the first genuine entrant into the mid size category. ford announced the new f-150, which is always the top selling. the mark are the is coming back and as well as the market in europe, the chinese market, i just heard this morning the chinese market is going to go where it is today which is about 15 million same as we are to 32

million units by the year 2022. that's eight years away but the americans are in there fighting, domestics are in there fighting. they'll get a piece of the action. >> i'm going ostop you. you are so good at this. your restaurant is going to be a big hit in no time flat. bub liebler. >> hope you'll come and visit us. >> yeah, i will! motown. owner of whitney restaurant and former executive of chrysler and ford. bud, glad to have you. how far a southwest plane was off course when it landed at the wrong airport. plus, president obama opens up criticism about his secretary much defense. back in a moment.

assault. afghan president karzai is long accu

>> welcome back everyone to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. the water ban is being gradually lifted in west virginia. testing is showing the water is safe. 300,000 people have been without water for five days. investigators are still investigating how the chemical leak happened in the first place. investigation as to governor chris christie running hurricane sandy ads,. >> treash appointments of president obama to high level positions, using a provision in the constitution to make the appointments while the senate is in recess should be allowed. federal investigators are now trying to figure out why the pilots of a southwest airlines plane landed at the wrong missouri airport. the plane took off from oklahoma

this afternoon. it was supposed to land in branson, missouri last night but it touched down at a small airport seven miles away. airport.rt runway is about half al jazeera's lisa stark is in washington for us. if anything had gone wrong with the airport not. the pilot was able to stop the plane, because at the end of the runway there was a steep embankment and a highway. this airport handles smaller planes, charter jets and corporate jets. luckily, the emergency equipment was not needed when the plane

touched down at the wrong airport. it got safely out. >> so lisa is there a simple explanation of how something like this there will be one wrog answer, did they type in the wrong coordinates, or did they watch out the window an miss it hopefully we happened? >> it is rear. but it does happen. just a few months ago, a cargo plane landed at a wrong why airport, too short for that plane. it is certainly embarrassing ane

negotiators, have agreed on a bill that will keep the military running, the bill does not contain any provisions that block the implementation of the president's health care law. president obama today spoke for the first time about the criticism leveled again him by former defense secretary robert gates. in his memoir gates questions president obama's confidence, and his strategy in afghanistan. the president spoke from the oval office about the war and gates work with the pentagon. >> secretary gates did an outstanding job for me as secretary of defense. as he notes he and i and the rest of my national security team came up with a strategy for afghanistan that was the right

strategy and we are continuing to execute and i think that what is important is that we got the policy right. >> gates served as secretary of defense until 2011. a new mexico judge has ruled some patients can choose to receive some medicine to peacefully end their lives. judge nan nash ruled that the right to die is a right under, the american civil liberties union of new mexico says it is pleased with the judge's decision. the so-called moral monday protest has spread to georgia now. a response to what some call extreme right policies. robert ray is in atlanta, good to see you again.

okay so the protest has disbanded for the evening. tee gone. they were behind me throughout the day, protesting what they call moral monday. started in north carolina back in april of 2013. started as a grass roots organization, run by reverend william barber with the naacp. at one point it began in asheville, north carolina, they had a rally of 10,000 people. over the course of last year over 900 people were arrested for the staging rallies which police arrested them for civil disobedience. happy to report here, no arrests played though a few hundred people were on the steps trying to make their way into the state capitol to let legislators know that they were not happy with the morality of the

constitutional laws that these folks have passed leer. many of them saying that this is the new southern strategy, they feel that since so many of the southern states are led by what they call extremist republicans that these folks need to take a stand against that and voice their opinions. we talked to one of the leaders, the founder of this movement, reverend william barber, earlier today, and here's what he had to say. >> what do you do when the governor and legislators won't listen to you? what do you to for instance here in georgia where they're talking about denying medicaid expansion, that will deny thousands of people, over 600,000 people, medical help? there are 2 million people in georgia with without -- uninsured. for every 500,000 people denied medicaid over to, tony.

>> what are some of the real concerns of the people ofern st.

>> robert ray for us in georgia, robert thank you. ariel sharon was buried after spending eight years in a coma. nick shifrin is outside his ranch in israel. >> outside the israel parliament they said good-bye. >> translator: an exceptional soldiers a commander who knew how to win. a leader who breathed a dream a man who charmed us all even during most difficult hours. >> they remembered his long military career his dramatic political fall and return to power and the nickname he used his whole life: arik.

>> arik understood that in matters of our existence and our security we must stand firm. >> had he a north star that guided him is a north star in which he never, at least in my observation never deviated. his north star was the survival of the state of israel. >> once dubbed king arik for his battle field victories was then given a full military procession. not buried in jerusalem, but on his ranch. sharon loved this land, israel's largest private farm his burial site is next to his wife's, soldiers who fought for him, brothers w.h.o. voted for him. and his decision to withdraw settlements from the gaza strip.

>> suddenlily he decided to disengage, it made no sense. >> police and the army deployed a security blimp and early warning sirens. >> the full security umbrella that has taken place that includes both 800 police officers, border police and undercover agents that are working on a security level. >> the funeral wasn't interrupted. his sons read the hebrew prayer for dead. palestinians called a war criminal and defined the israel state. nick shifrin in the negev desert. >> responding to a tweet calling for the release of al jazeera staff, mccain tweeted, totally agree. producers mohamed fahmy, behar

mohamed, and peter greste, the other two are from our sister channels have been detained for five months now. the execution of a death row prisoner will go as determined. >> the federal court has refused to stop an execution of an ohio man who -- by a method that has not been used before. also an appellate court upheld the conviction of a man trying to blow up an airliner headed towards detroit in 2009. admitted he was carrying a bomb in his underwear on behalf of al qaeda. he later claimed a judge made a series of incorrect decisions including knot ordering a mental

health exam. the u.s. supreme court, declined to take on a matter claimed unconstitutional. abortion rights groups argued the measure was more extreme than similar state laws. former basketball star dennis rodman says he's sorry he couldn't help an american missionary detained in north korea during his trirp there. kenneth bae has been in the custody of north koreans for more than a year. rodman went to pyongyang to celebrate kim jong-il's birthday. he says he will return in a month. >> maria appreciate it, thank you. mississippi is considering ending congress gall visits for inmates. 155 inmates out of 22,000 had such visits last year.

mississippi is one of six states that allows congress gall visits. alex rodriguez is taking his one year suspension to court. details on why he is fighting major league baseball again. also data breaches affecting millions of customers, now we learn that more customers information may have been hacked.

>> michael eaves is here with the big story in sports, alex rodriguez, fighting back against major league baseball. but you talk about a stack of evidence stacked against him. >> the only person that thinks it's not stacked against him ask

rodriguez himself. at the time the initial 211 game suspension, rodriguez vowed to fight those allegation he through any and all means available. and today's lawsuit filing falls right in line with that. the lawsuit seeks to overturn the 162 game suspension handed out by arbitrator fred horowitz. are refusal to entertain evidence that was pertinent to and material to the outcome. the lawsuit also claims that the players association completely abdicated its responsibility to protect rodriguez' rights and created an environment in which mlb felt competent to tramp on rodriguez rights. joe pina explains why he thinks the 161 game suspension is

unwarranted. >> i'm amazed. obstruct justice by forcing and compelling witnesses, threatening witnesses and they have the gall, the gall to cues alex rodriguez of obstructing the investigation? >> i spoke to multiple legal analysts and they all believe that rodriguez and his attorney will have a hard time convincing the league and the union when there are appeals. outside his jurisdiction tony the legal inability i spoke to says this lawsuit will likely be dismissed. >> and where will it go from there? is he allowed to show up for spring training? >> he is loud to. the question is will the yankees ask him not to? obviously it will be a huge distraction to start the 2014 season. >> thank you. right now protestors are

rallying against a same sex ban in indianapolis. following four hours of debate the topic has moved to really the center stage position on social media. maria innes fees feres ferre is. maria. >> they are against the hjr 3, that's the same sex marriage ban in indiana, and you will see people were gathered outside the chamber as well. some people tweeting out their experiences, today it's lard for me, i'm both openly gay and republican i'm on the one hand offended and on the other extremely embarrassed. not everybody was protesting against the ban. you'll see this picture john murray tweets out, it has a woman within the crowd that last

a sign saying yes on hjr 3. another group that's for this ban is nation for marriage and they have tweeted out pictures throughout the day as well, as well as advance america. they put out a video oyoutube and also on television. now a panel of 13 lawmakers have to vote on the ban, four of them are democrats, in order to strike it down, three republicans must join them tony. >> maria, appreciate it thanks for following that for us. millions of customers have been affected by data breaches at nee manmarcus and target as you know. now we know three more retailers were reportedly hacked but we don't know what are retailers. clekilmeny deucht reports.

>> duchart reports. >> congress may want to know why shoppers in many cases have been the last to know. when target was breached in december they waited four days to tell customers but only after it was reported by a security backlogger. similarly, neiman marcus waited nine days before telling customers their information was breached. not uniform most of the laws are weak and in some cases they leave it to credit card companies to determine when it's appropriate. some credit card data as was the case with target other personal information is left at risk. new york attorney general's office gave this statement. data breaches like this can make consumers vulnerable to identity theft and other crimes that can have deaf stating effect on their financial security. i will continue to work with my

attorneys and other offices to make sure shoppers can continue without personal information is stolen. kilmeny duchart, al jazeera. >> dave warren is up with the weather. a

unrestrained and uncompromising. >> are you going to resign if you're indicted? >> first, real money with ali velshi brings the big-money issues home where they effect you the most. >> household debt has been slashed. >> then, what real people are talking about in real-time with the stream. >> all of our communities lightin' up twitter tonight. >> and stay with us for live, breaking and in-depth news. real reporting, this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonights exclusive report... >> from coast to coast... >> people selling fresh water for fracking... >> stories that have impact... >> we lost lives... >> that make a difference... >> senator, we were hoping we could ask you some questions about your legal problems... >> that open your world... >> it can be very dangerous... >> i hear gunshots... >> the bullet came right there through the widdow... >> it absolutely is a crisis...

>> real reporting... >> this...is what we do... >> america tonight, only on al jazeera america. >> a religious controversy is brewing in question beck, as al jazeera daniel lak reports from montreal, the proposal has provoked a fierce debate. >> montrealers, there's a problem. quebec's government wants to stop government workers from wearing religious symbols like their hajabs. >> it's literally aimed and jews and muslims and christians, it's just-- they're creating targets. >> i'm not going to choose between work and my religion,

that's not how the law should be. >> this is what they're talking about. it's from an official government document and basically it says if you work for the civil service, you can't wear religious symbols, the charter of quebec values. >> the minister responsible says government can't favor one religion over others and working civil servants must demonstrate that in what you wear. >> if you are religiously neutral while you're on the job, you should not be allowed to display your religious convictions for others, out of respect for every religion belief and nonbelief. >> there's been a backlash. last november this photograph of two veiled daycare workers appeared on facebook to days of hateful comments and unfriendly

tabloid news coverage. the couple who owned the daycare asked us to did i guise their identity. >> i can't work because this is the choice i made. >> the universities hospitals and municipalities have objected to the proposal, some say they won't enforce them. city counselor isn't clear whether this new law would allow him to continue in office. >> i've been able to defend my duties, defend the interests of my citizen. and how is my wearing kepa prohibited me from performing my tasks. >> much less popular with english speakers and in cities. the controversy over the charter of quebec values is set to continue as the government holds

more public hearings and possibly makes it part of an election campaign in 2014. daniel lak lack, al jazeera, montreal. >> good evening, everyone, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau, we have weather in almost every single corner of the northeast. eastern seaboard, as well as the northwest. we are dealing with winter storm warnings, avalanche warnings and incredible winds, through parts of idaho, montana, wyoming. wind gusts, billings we're gusting up to 56 miles per hour, down near casper, it's a little bit less than that. we are seeing consistent 30 to 35, even 40 mile-per-hour winds. now the warnings are in effect for high wind wrarntion affecting many of those states, as well as wind advisories over here, a legal to the east, even

seattle you're seeing very gusty winds as well. ddown to the southwest, los angeles 78°, the problem is your humidity is down to about 8%. so that means we are also look at the potential of red flag warnings across the region. santa ana winds are kicking up through the west, fire danger is extremely high. look at the temperatures we expect over most of los angeles over the next couple of days. 82 tomorrow, going up to 84°, well above average for this time of year. relative humanities will stay in the -- humidities will stay, we do plan to go back down towards the weekend. northeast it is actually freezing rain advisory, we saw that before, well it is back and it is going omake driving extremely dangerous. that's a look at your national weather. have a great evening.

this is al jazeera america, live from new york city, i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. west virginia is lifting water restrictions for some residences affected by a chemical spill last week, about 300,000 people have been going without tap water for about five days now. for the first time today, the u.s. supreme court heard arguments about president obama's temporary appointments to high-level positions. opponents say the president misused a provision that allows the appointments while sthen nate is in recess. a federal agencies is investigating whether governor chris christie